InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Difference a Little Time Can Make ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. I am not making any money from this story.

 

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Please continue to review and let me know what you think. The changes from canon will continue to ripple out, though some things will remain the same.

 

I'm sorry for the wait everybody. I've had this chapter mostly done for a while but I don't like to post until I have the next chapter mostly written. I find it easier to spot continuity errors that way. And the next chapter gave me so many problems. So again, sorry.

--------------------------

Inuyasha and Kagome walked in silence. They were both still blushing from Kagome's explanation and were refusing to look at each other. Inuyasha found that it explained so much. He could remember when he was younger and his mother was alive. There were times he had smelled her blood and thought that she was injured. She would always tell him that she was fine and she would explain when he was older. But she died before she could. His ears drooped at the memory and he shook his head to clear it. After that, he had avoided human settlements for the most part, not being welcome because of his mixed blood. He had survived in the forests with little contact with humans, especially not women. Shaking his head, he thought 'was it any wonder that he didn't know something this important.' He smirked as a thought occurred to him. 'Women have their own time of weakness.' When he put it like that it made sense in a way he could understand. He shuddered as he remembered Kagome's explanation. 'It can last up to a week! I think I prefer turning human for one night to going through THAT for a week!' Another thought occurred to him and he turned to glare at Myouga but found that the flea had ran off some time ago.

 

Kagome continued to blush as they walked. She had never expected to have to explain THAT to a boy, especially a boy she had kissed. That thought reminded her of the kiss and she blushed even harder. She thought about how she felt about it. It was her first kiss, and she felt all warm inside just thinking about it. But how did she feel about Inuyasha? He was her friend and she cared deeply about him. When she thought he was going to die, it felt like something had broken inside of her. Did that mean she cared about him as more than a friend? She was so confused. And what about his feelings for her. She wondered about how he saw her. Sure he protects her and has risked his life to save hers several times but does that mean he saw her as more than a friend. She risked a glance at him but he appeared to be deep in thought. 'He hasn't said anything about the kiss. Does he regret it?' she wondered. She tried to gather the courage to ask him.

 

Inuyasha's thoughts had also turned to the kiss. He wondered what it would feel like to do that now that he had his hanyou senses and could really taste and smell her. Her lips had felt so soft and warm against his own. He cursed himself. 'Baka! Why are you thinking like that? Why did you even kiss her in the first place?' But he knew why he had done it. He was always more emotional when he was human. 'Just forget about it' he told himself. 'Maybe she's forgotten and won't bring it up.' He didn't think that was very likely. A thought occurred to him and he stiffened, ears drooping on top of his head. 'What if she only allowed it because I was human at the time?' He sighed. 'Of course. Who would want to kiss a filthy hanyou.' As he was thinking these things he ignored the little voice in his head that tried to tell him that Kagome didn't see him that way. He was drawn from his thoughts by Kagome's voice.

 

“Inu-Inuyasha” she blushed as she tried to keep her voice steady. She needed answers, she couldn't chicken out. When he turned and looked at her she almost lost her nerve. “A-about last night-”

Inuyasha began to panic. She was going to bring up the kiss. “F-forget about it wench. Let's just forget it happened.”

 

Kagome stopped dead at that. 'He wants to pretend it didn't happen?' She felt tears fill her eyes and wondered why his rejection hurt so much.

 

Inuyasha smelled her tears and turned to face her, even more panicked. “Oi, d-don't cry” he ordered.

 

Kagome felt herself become angry at that. She was always quicker to anger at this time of the month but she didn't feel like holding back just then. “How can you stand there and tell me to just forget about it?! That was my first kiss! It was special and now you want to pretend that it didn't happen!” She turned away and tried to gain control before she did or said something that she would regret. “I thought it meant something to you as well” she said quietly as she remembered the emotion she had seen his eyes the night before.

 

Inuyasha felt his heart clench as he saw the pain on her face and heard it in her voice. He swallowed hard and said “I-it did.” When she turned to face him he continued. “It did, does mean something to me. It was my first kiss as well.” He swallowed again.

 

“Th-then why?” she asked him plaintively. “Why did you tell me to forget that it happened?” She clutched at his haori, eyes pleading to know the answer.

 

“I-I thought that was what you wanted. I mean who would really want to kiss a hanyou like me?” He closed his eyes as he asked “Didn't you only allow it because I was human?” He was shocked to feel her hand tugging on him suddenly, pulling him down, and his eyes shot open as something soft and warm touched his lips. 'She's kissing me?!' he thought and his eyes fluttered closed again. His arms grasped her and pulled her closer to his body, feeling her arms wrap around him in return. He found he couldn't think, he was lost in the sensations of the kiss. All too soon the kiss ended. But instead of pulling away they remained there, holding each other.

 

Kagome wasn't sure what had gotten into her. All she knew was that when he said that she had only kissed him because he was human at the time she had to prove him wrong. So she had kissed him again. She only wanted to prove him wrong. But as she felt him respond, she lost herself to the kiss. When she felt him pull her closer she shifted her arms to wrap around his body. She felt like she was floating. All she could focus on was the feel of his lips on hers. Eventually, they broke apart but she continued to hold him. Looking up at the dazed and confused expression on his face, she remembered why she had initiated that kiss. “Don't say things like that. I care about you, a lot. I don't care that you're a hanyou. Please don't reject me for other people's views.”

 

Inuyasha continued to stare at her. 'Who is this amazing creature?' he wondered. 'How can she make me feel this way?' He hugged her tighter to him and said “I'm sorry.”

 

She smiled gently at him. “I don't know how it felt for you but to me, that was special. I don't want to pretend it didn't happen.” She stepped back and grabbed his hand. “Come on. Let's get moving.” He smiled softly at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. Then they continued on, hand in hand in companionable silence.

 

It was when they had stopped for lunch that Myouga made his presence known. They had just finished their meal when Inuyasha slapped the side of his neck.

 

“Ouch!” The flea re-inflated with a pop. “Oh Inuyasha-sama! I found it!”

Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged looks of confusion. “Found what Myouga-jiji?”

 

The excited flea hopped up and down. “In the forest up ahead there is a steel wasp hive. The Tessaiga's sheath can be fully repaired.”

“Great!” Inuyasha said and they followed the flea's directions. But upon reaching the location, they hesitated. The hive was large and swarming with wasps. Kagome gulped. They looked dangerous. She didn't want to be stung by one of them.

 

Inuyasha had Kagome stay back while he carefully followed Myouga's directions and laid the Tessaiga in it's sheath beside the hive. He then backed away. The wasps immediately began to swarm over the sword and sheath. After a few minutes, they could see that the wasps were covering the sheath with wax.

 

After about an hour of waiting Inuyasha began to get impatient. He stood up and complained “Aren't they done yet?!” He was prepared to go and grab the sword despite the wasps when Myouga stopped him.

 

“No Inuyasha-sama! You must allow them to do their work.” The flea hopped up and down on Inuyasha's shoulder to emphasize his point. “The wax of the steel wasps is the only thing that can fully seal the crack on the Tessaiga's sheath. And they will not let it be taken from them until they are finished. If you try to remove it before they are ready, they will sting you to death! And then they will attack anyone else in the area!” Myouga added the last part, knowing that while the hanyou might risk his own safety, he wouldn't risk Kagome's.

 

It worked. Inuyasha huffed but sat back down next to Kagome. “Keh, fine! But how long is this going to take?” he grumbled.

 

“Not to worry Inuyasha-sama. I have no doubt that they will be finished by nightfall” the flea told him.

 

“Nightfall?! You mean this is gonna take all day?!” The hanyou continued to grumble and complain. At least until he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Turning, he blushed as he spotted Kagome. She had fallen asleep and now had her head resting on his shoulder. He quieted, not wanting to disturb her rest. 'She stayed up most of the night to take care of me' he thought. He carefully shifted her so that she lay with her head in his lap. After all, it was only fair that he return the favor, right? He sat there and stared at her. He remembered his earlier thought and turned to glare at the flea on his shoulder. “Oi! Why didn't you ever tell me that women have their own times of weakness?”

 

The old flea began to sweat. “I'm sorry Inuyasha-sama. But whenever I would try to bring the subject up you would become flustered and squish me before telling me to shut up. Just like when I tried to tell you that Kagome-sama was in heat.”

 

Inuyasha thought about it. He could recall a number of times when he had squished the flea when he brought up one embarrassing topic or another. “Sorry” he mumbled. Then something else the flea had said caught his attention and he frowned. “What did you mean about Kagome being in heat?”

 

“A female goes into heat right before what you call their 'time of weakness'. Though I wouldn't let any of them hear you refer to it that way, they can be quite sensitive about that type of thing.” At Inuyasha's glare he hastily returned to the topic at hand. “Anyway, when a female is in heat, it means they are fertile or their body is ready to mate and conceive offspring. If the female does not mate or conceive any offspring within a certain time, then they enter their 'time of weakness.'”

 

Inuyasha nodded at the explanation. It seemed simple enough. But another thought occurred to him. “So how did you know Kagome had entered heat anyway?”

 

The flea sweat-dropped again as he wondered how his master had never learned these things. “Her blood changed. You should also have noticed as her scent had also changed.” He gave the hanyou a knowing look.

 

Inuyasha blushed as he realized why Kagome had smelled so good a few days ago. “K-keh” he muttered. At least it explained why his body had reacted the way it had. He turned to stare at Kagome again as she murmured in her sleep. He reached out and brushed the hair from her face, and she settled down again. He continued to sit there, content to just gaze at her sleeping form.

 

After an hour or two she began to stir. Yawning, she opened her eyes and blushed. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Upon realizing where she was her blush deepened. “Inuyasha?”

 

“Keh” he said, face matching his haori. “J-just returning the favor.”

She gave him a small smile and said “You smell nice.” He blushed further and she sat up but reached out to grasp his hand. They remained like that for several hours, just enjoying each other's company. A short time before sunset they noticed the activity near the hive change. They looked and saw the wasps leaving the Tessaiga and entering the hive.

 

“There, Inuyasha-sama. The Tessaiga's sheath is ready. You may now retrieve it.”

Inuyasha got up and carefully approached the hive. He gripped his sword and when no wasps appeared to attack him, he returned to the others. He examined the sheath but could find no sign of the previous damage. “Come on” he said. “Let's go find someplace to make camp.” They ended up back in the clearing where they had eaten lunch earlier that day. Inuyasha left Kagome to set up camp while he quickly caught dinner. Neither noticed when Myouga left again and didn't return.

 

After they had eaten they began to settle down for the night. As he handed Kagome his haori in what was becoming a nightly ritual, he told her “Make sure you get some rest tonight. Tomorrow I want to make up for the time we lost today.”

 

She gave him a smile and said “goodnight” before settling down. She pulled his haori to her face and breathed in his scent before she fell asleep.

 

Inuyasha stared at her for a few minutes before jumping into a tree and finding his own rest.

 

He awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. He had really needed the rest. Glancing up at the sky, he saw the sun just beginning to rise above the horizon. He jumped down and landed beside Kagome. “Oi wench time to get up.” He frowned when she merely curled up into a tighter ball and ignored him. “Come on. I told you I wanted to get an early start.” He knelt down and shook her shoulder but was startled when she let out a hiss of pain. “Kagome?” he asked worried.

 

Kagome curled up into a tighter ball. Her cramps were really painful this time. She wondered what was going on. They had never felt this bad before. She was distantly aware of Inuyasha's voice. “N'yasha” she mumbled out as wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Hurts” she gasped out.

 

Inuyasha was near panicking. Was she sick? She didn't smell sick. But he could detect her bleeding was heavier than the day before. 'Is that it?' he wondered. 'But is it supposed to be like that or is something wrong?' He didn't know and cursed his lack of knowledge. A flash of memory came to him then. One of the times he had smelled his mother's blood. He had thought she had been sick, dying even. She had laid in bed all day, clearly in pain. She had clutched herself just as Kagome was now. He remembered he had been frightened, not knowing what to do to help her. She had gestured for him to join her and he had laid his head on her stomach. She had seemed a little better after that. He wondered. 'Could that be it?'

 

Kagome was in agony. She would kill for some type of pain reliever. A sudden warm pressure on her side drew her attention. She felt it again. The pain was receding. She forced her eyes open and looked. Inuyasha had placed his hand on her side and was massaging the pain away. It felt so good. She sighed with relief and relaxed. After awhile the pain faded and she felt him shift her and repeat his actions on her other side. 'Am I in heaven?' she absently wondered. Soon the pain had completely gone and she managed to sit up.

 

“Are you alright now?” Inuyasha asked her.

 

She beamed at him. “Much better. Thank you Inuyasha.”

 

“Keh” he blushed. “I'll go catch us some breakfast. Why don't you clean up?”

 

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “A bath sounds nice” she told him and grabbed her things. She figured that she might as well clean her dirty clothing while she washed herself. A short time later, she stepped out of the stream and re-dressed, feeling much better. She rejoined Inuyasha and they ate in peace.

 

He spoke up suddenly, breaking into her thoughts. “Is-is it always that bad?” he asked her.

 

She looked at him and saw the genuine concern on his face. “No. I think it was only this bad because of stress and the fact that it was late. It is usually much more manageable.” She smiled at him. “Thank you again. I don't know how you knew what to do but you really helped.”

 

He glanced away. “I remembered something from when my mother was alive. She was in pain, lying in her bed and I could smell her blood. I didn't know what was wrong but when I put pressure on her stomach, it seemed to help. I thought it might help now. I'm glad I was able to help you.” He turned back to face her. “If you're feeling better we should get moving.”

 

With that they started to pack up camp. Kagome frowned as she wondered what she should do. The pain was greatly reduced but she still didn't feel up to walking. The decision was taken out of her hands as Inuyasha lifted her onto his back. At her surprised gasp he said “I told you I wanted to cover more ground today. This way is faster.” Still she couldn't help but notice that his hands on her legs were a little gentler and his jumps weren't as big so they didn't bounce as much.

---------------------------------------
Kagome stared into the fire. It had been a little over a week since the night of the new moon. As she watched the flames she contemplated how things had changed in that time. That day after they had repaired the Tessaiga's sheath they had traveled quickly, only stopping for their bodies needs. That night they had sat by the fire and shared stories. Inuyasha had opened up further about his childhood with his mother and Kagome was touched as she could tell that he deeply cherished those memories. That he was willing to share them with her told her a great deal about how he cared for her. In exchange, she had told him about her father who had died when she was a little girl. They spoke late into the night, falling asleep when they could no longer stay awake. They awoke the next morning to find that they had snuggled up to each other in their sleep. They had blushed but there was little of the previous awkwardness as they had grown more comfortable with each other.

 

After that they had fallen into a routine. Kagome sighed as she thought about it. They traveled during the day and at night they shared their pasts. They could feel themselves becoming closer to one another. They hadn't kissed again but they found that they were constantly touching one another, be it a pat here, or a caress there. They also found themselves holding hands quite often. They didn't really come across very many people as they traveled since they tended to avoid the main roads. As a result, they had become used to being by themselves and having only each other for company. Things had been mostly peaceful, only a few low level youkai had been foolish enough to attack them and Inuyasha had easily dispatched them.

 

In fact, the only real complaint that Inuyasha had made was grumbling about how often she had to stop and her need for daily bathing. But she couldn't help that she had felt so disgusting. She had also noticed how the scent of her blood had seemed to affect him, that he kept looking her over for injuries before blushing and looking away. They were both glad when her cycle finally ran its course and finished.

 

Kagome sighed again. She was so confused. They had been growing so close over the last few days. But she was unsure of her feelings. She knew that she cared a great deal about the hanyou and thought, no, she knew he cared about her as well. But she was unsure at the depth of those feelings. 'Is this love?' she wondered. She didn't know. She wished she could speak to her mother. 'Mama, you were always able to help me understand my feelings. I miss you.' She felt a wave of homesickness and blinked unshed tears away as she realized just how much she missed her family. A clawed hand grasped her shoulder, drawing her out of her reverie.

 

“Oi wench, you alright?” Inuyasha asked as he peered into her face. “You seemed far away for a few minutes.”

She tried to smile at him but it came out weak. “I was just thinking about how much I missed my family. Do you think this priest we're going to see might know anything that could help us?”

 

Inuyasha tensed as he remembered why they were traveling in the first place. 'That's right, we're trying to find a way for her to get back to her own time.' He had nearly forgotten, he had become so used to her presence that he didn't know what he would do if she did find a way home. Could he really let her go? Could he really go back to being alone? He noticed that she was waiting for an answer and sighed. “I don't know.” It was the answer to both her question as well as his unspoken ones.

 

She merely nodded and returned her gaze to the fire. He continued to stare at her. “Would it be so bad?” he asked her suddenly. She turned to look at him, a look of confusion wrinkling her brow. “I mean, if we can't find a way for you to get home. Would it really be so bad?” His ears flattened against his head as he waited for her answer. 'Why did I ask that?' he wondered. He could feel his heart pounding within his chest, it seemed to get louder the longer she took to answer.

 

Kagome was taken aback by his question. 'Why would he ask that?' she wondered. But she paused and thought about it. It was true that she missed her family but being with Inuyasha made up for it. The pain didn't seem so bad when he was there. She thought about it a little longer. Could she adjust to this era if she had to? Would it really be so bad? Staring at Inuyasha she found her answer. Yes, she could learn to adjust, and no, it wouldn't be so bad.

 

She reached out and grasped Inuyasha's hand. When his eyes rose to meet hers she gave him a smile. “No” she told him gently. “It wouldn't be too bad. I would miss my family but I think I could learn to adjust to living in this time. At least, I could as long as I had you with me.” She squeezed his hand and felt an answering squeeze as she blushed and looked away.

 

Inuyasha felt his heart rate return to normal at her answer. Remembering the last part of her statement he reached out and gently gripped her chin before turning her head to face him. He stared at her intently, his face serious as his golden eyes bored into her blue ones. “You'll always have me” he told her quietly. “For as long as you need me.” He tugged her forward into a gentle embrace. They stayed like that for a long while, simply basking in the presence of the other. Neither of them was aware of the changes to their relationship that the next day would bring or the trials that they would face.

----------------------------------

Please let me know what you think of this chapter. There were a few parts I wasn't sure about and may go back and edit later. And hey, it wasn't really a cliffhanger. Just a hint that something big is going to happen in the next chapter, which I'll try to get out soon. But I can't make any promises. It might take a few days.